Gripper mechanism for printing-machines



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'0. B. OOTTRELL.

GRIPPER MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES.

N0. 391,515. Patented 001;. 23, 1888.

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(No-Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

O. B. OOTTRELL.

GRIPPER MECHANISM FOR PRINTING MACHINES.

No. 391.515. Patented Oct. 23,1888.

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CALVERT B. COTTRELL, OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,515, dated October23, 1888.

Application filed October 11, 1887. Serial No. 251,994.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CALVERT B. COTTRELL, of Stonington, in the county ofNew London and State of Connecticut, haveinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Gripper Mechanism for Printing-lllachines, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to the grippers for taking the sheet, which areprovided upon the cylinders of cylinder or drum printing-machines, andwhich, as the cylinder or drum rotates, carry the sheet forward betweenthe cylinder or drum and the form upon the reciprocating bed of thepress.

The object of my invention is to provide a very simple form of mechanismfor positively and accurately operating these grippers in opening andclosing; and to this end I combine with the series or set of grippers agrippershaft and toggle-lever or pair of toggle-levers, which serve tooperate the grippers and to hold them closed securely by the middlejointof the levers coming to or passing a position in line with theotherjoints,and I employ a cam with which a truck roll or pin upon thelevers comes in contact as the cylinder rotates to shift the middlejointofthe levers, and thus to close or release and open the grippers, andIalso apply to the gripper-shaft or grippers a spring which serves toaccelerate their opening motion after they are released or relieved bythe deflection of the toggle-levers.

The invention will be hereinafter more fully described, and pointed outin the claims.

In the accompanying drawings,Figurel represents a side elevation of suchparts of a press as are necessary to illustrate my invention, in-'cluding an end view of the cylinder or drum, and showing thegripper-operating mechanism asin position to hold the grippers closed;and Fig. 2 is a plan ofone end portion of the cylinder or drum and ofthe parts shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly in section,looking from the inner side of Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

Adesignates the cylinder or drum,which has itsjournals asupported,as isusuahin boxes bin the cylinder frames or uprights B.

O designates the feed-board.

The cylinder or drum A has the usual gripper-recesses, a, in which isjonrnaled the grip- (370 model.)

ously, by swinging the sector D in one or other direction upon itspivot, the grippers dwill be opened or closed. WVith thesector isconnected atoggle or apairoftoggle'levers, DD'f. These levers or membersare pivoted together at d, which forms the middle joint of the toggles,and the member or lever D has a fixed pivot at (i while the member orlever D is pivoted at d to thesector D. Obviously, when the toggles arebrought to a position in which the mid dle joint,d, is in line withthepivots d d", oris carried slightly past a position in line with suchpivots, as is illustrated in Fig. l by the dotted lines passing throughthe centers of the pivots d d, the grippers d" will be held closed andcannot be opened,save by the deflection of the middlejoint, d", fromsuch line. For the purpose of opening and closing the grippers bydeflecting the middle joint, d, I employ a cam, E, here shown assecuredto one of the side frames of the press,as shown in Fig. 2,andcomposed of two ribs or flanges, 6, between which is formedachannel,e,receiving atrnckroll,d ,upon the member D of the toggle. Thecylinder rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1, andat the entering end of the cam E there is a curved offset,e* whichserves to deflect the levers D D from astraight line, while at theopposite end of the cam is a similar curve or offset, e**, which bringsthe levers back to or slightly past a straight line, and so closes thegrippers d and locks them in closed position. The offset or curve 6* atthe entering end of the cam will release or relieve the grippers andserve to open them; but for the purpose of giving them a quick action inopening, and completing their opening, I apply a spring to thegripper-shaft d, and this spring may be a spiral spring, f, applied asshown in Fig. 2.

It will be seen that the mechanism shown will be very simple, and thatby it I operate the grippers positively in opening and closing andlocking them in their closed position.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination,- with the impression cylinder or drum and aset ofcylinder-grippers and their shaft, of toggle-levers, whereby thegrippers are operated and held closed by the middle joint of the leverscoming to or passing a position in line with the other joints, gearingbetween the toggle-levers and the gripper-shaft, and a cam whereby thetogglelevers are operated, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination,with an impression cylinder or drum and a set ofcylinder-grippers and their shaft, ofa spring applied for throwing thegrippers open, toggle-levers whereby the grippers are operated inclosing and are held closed by the middle joint of the levers coming toor passing a position in line with their other joints, gearing betweenthe toggle-levers and the gripper-shaft, and a cam whereby thetoggle-levers are operated, substantially as herein described.

3. The combination, with the cylinder or drum and the gripper-shaft andgrippers d d, of the sector and pinion D d whereby the shaft is turned,the toggle-levers D D connected with the sector, an opening spring, asf, and the cam E, substantially as herein described.

CALVERT B. COTTRELL.

Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY J. MoBRIDE.

